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Gory Games
=Host= Dave Lamb =Co-hosts= "Rattus Rattus" (puppeteer John Eccleston) Terry Deary =Broadcast= Citrus TV / Lion TV for CBBC, 30 May 2011 to 6 August 2013 (41 episodes in 3 series) =Synopsis= Game show spin-off from the Horrible Histories series. In the beginning, there was Horrible Histories. It was a show about the past, and a show with a difference. Most historical shows follow a linear narrative, going from event to event through history, as though the march of time is itself an irresistible force. Horrible Histories prefers tactics from modern military commanders: Snot and Augh. Real life wasn't just about kings and princes, about struggles for supremacy. It's as much about defecating, about infectious diseases, about food and drink and pus and phlegm and all sorts of unusual punishments, most of them fatal. Horrible Histories jumps from era to era with reckless abandon, and it's deftly written with as much emphasis on humour as historical fact. Getting children to laugh is difficult; getting them to remember bits of history is difficult; combining the two seems like a doddle, so it's got to be even more difficult. Horrible Histories has been noticed by The Critical Establishment, presumably because The Critical Establishment's precious daughter has been roaring her head off with laughter at the show. It was awarded Best Entertainment Programme at the comedy awards early in the year, the first time a children's programme had picked up a gong at these grown-up prizes – so grown-up that they're hosted by Jonathan Ross. Now Horrible Histories has a spin-off quiz show, Gory Games. The opening title song warns that there's going to be lots of bodily functions, and suggests that if this isn't your thing, you might want to look away now. Already, Gory Games is establishing its outsider credentials, it's coming across as a bit edgy. Gory Games closely follows two traditions of the children's game show genre. As is traditional on children's television, the host for proceedings is a hand-puppet animal. Rattus Rattus is a rat: not quite as cocky as former BBC Three controller Roland Rat, but he's clearly got designs on greater fame. The other tradition is that every game show in the universe must employ someone who took their name from a piece of meat. Dave Lamb shoulders much of this burden, giving commentary on about 30 episodes of Come Dine with Me every hour, and – as we saw once – nipping into Alexander Armstrong's basement to check some facts. On Gory Games, he'll actually be running the show, awarding points and giving the score. He'll also give a voice-over commentary to events elsewhere, so no change there. Actually, we lie. Gory Games follows a third tradition of game shows, in that it has contestants and questions and answers. There are three contestants, we'll get to know them briefly at the start of the game, and by "briefly" we mean "name, location, random fact". More time is spent on Mr. Rattus and Dave's comedy cross-talk, entirely the right choice. Round one is picked from nine possible eras of questions, ranging from the ancient Egyptians up to the Victorians. This being Horrible Histories, the ages are given alliterative names, such as the "Terrible Tudors". Each round consists of four questions, and the contestants will take it in turns to pick a question from those available. It only gives them an illusion of control, all four questions will end up being asked. The responses are either true/false, or multiple choice A B C questions. Contestants indicate their preferred response by holding up a paddle giving the answer. It's a bit like that Channel 5 teatime filler 100%, only done on even less budget, which we thought was just about impossible. Most of the questions are asked by animated characters, though some are given by Mr. Rattus, sometimes with the assistance of Dave in a prop question. Gory Games The scoreboard shows the Green and Pink players ahead. Throughout the round, Dave tots up the scores on his high-technology computational machine, a device so powerful that it display any integer number between 0 and 4 in any of the contestants' colours, merely by the location of beads on a piece of wood. Whichever contestant has the most points on the abacus – and ties are broken by a buzzer question – gets two advantages. They're allowed to pick a Year Sphere, one of a dozen or so small round balls, spray painted gold, and concealing a year inside. The winner of the round is also certain to play the physical challenge that follows. Some of these challenges are designated "all play" games, because all three contestants will play them; others are "solo play", and only the winner of the round will take part. "All play" games will always produce one or more winners, "solo play" games have the contender trying to meet a particular standard of performance, deemed a winning result. But what are these games? Challenges such as reducing the risk of developing the plague, which (we now know) was spread by fleas living on rats. So if the contender can stop rats from moving about, perhaps by inflicting cranial damage, they'll be doing a good thing. Clonk 15 rats on the nut in two minutes to win another Year Sphere, then. Or have all three competitors pay homage to an Aztec deity by erecting a pyramid in her honour, a pyramid formed of shapes that have been broken up through the passage of time and need to be re-assembled. Gory Games Mr. Rattus and Dave (inset) commentate on the Intelligence round. All of these games are played down the Time Sewer, and are the subject of commentary by Dave and Mr. Rattus. Even the whack-a-rat game, the host's a professional like that. The Time Sewer itself is a pipe leading from the brightly-lit Gory Games studio to a darkened area, one that allows simple but effective sets to be erected and struck easily. There are four rounds in the show: the final one deviates from the norm only by skipping the questions and moving straight to the challenge, which is an all-play game. It means that all of the competitors will take part in at least two of the physical challenges, ensuring they have a memorable day out at the studios. Eventually, the time has come to open the Year Spheres, and total up the years inside. All of the years are historical dates, and most of them are dates AD, these are ADded to the player's total. Some of the spheres hide dates BC, which will be (er) suBtraCted from the total. It means that a player with none of the golden balls can still win the game, if the opposition gets enough BC dates. As well as the score, Dave will tell us what the historical date was. Education through serendipity. Gory Games Ooooh, nasty. What's the prize? Something small and disgusting, such as a piece of tissue paper (allegedly) used by Lady Jane Gray. Gory Games respects historical traditions, including the one that game shows on children's television are played for the fun, not for the prizes. All of the contestants have an unusual opportunity – get messy on national television, show off some of their more arcane knowledge, and appear with a national television megastar. And him off of Come Dine With Me. Like its parent, Gory Games is funny, and educational without appearing to be. And they make it seem so effortless, which is the greatest achievement of all. Gory Games The winner needs this prize like a hole in the head. =Trivia= During 2014, selected episodes from the show were reworked so that viewers could play along at home on a Gory Games app. =Web links= CBBC site, also home of the Gory Games Play Along app. Category:ChildrensCategory:HistoryCategory:Lion TV Productions